SLC: Week 11 preview

Week 10 has wrapped up, and there were not any surprises in the conference. Sam Houston and Central Arkansas both notched wins over McNeese and Stephen F Austin respectively, and with the win, they are on a collision course for a Southland Conference title showdown next weekend in Huntsville (barring any shockers this weekend). Nicholls State, Southeastern Louisiana, and Abilene Christian won the games they were favored in, and Houston Baptist took the loss at Texas-El Paso.

Without further ado, here’s your week 10 “Rev”-elations.

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Stephen F Austin at Houston Baptist

Clint Conque looked to pull an upset against his former school, and the SFA defense tried to make it happen, forcing six UCA turnovers, however the Lumberjack offense just couldn’t move the ball on the stout Bear defense, and UCA took the win 34-14. SFA has to win out the two remaining games to finish above .500, and you have to think Conque’s days are numbered in Nacogdoches. This week, the Jacks head to Houston to take on Houston Baptist. The Huskies are coming in off of an out of conference loss vs UTEP, and HBU has shown quite a bit of improvement this year. While not powerful enough to win the conference, they are also showing that they may not be the perennial cellar dweller of the Southland. I think they actually will have SFA’s number this week, and Houston Baptist will take it 28-24.

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Nicholls State at Central Arkansas

Here is your Southland conference game of the week, and if there was a team who could easily wreck the Bears’ season, it’s the Colonels of Nicholls State. They come into this game coming off of a Thursday night win against the Lamar Cardinals, and the extra two days should have helped rest their defense and get them ready for the challenge of stopping the Bears. While Nicholls’ offense is nothing to write home about, their defense is one of the best in conference and has kept them in their games. Central Arkansas boasts, in my opinion, the best defense in the conference, and while their offense starts off slow, the UCA defense allows them to still win. This isn’t going to be a high scoring game, and if you like defensive matchups, I suggest sitting down and watching this. Can Nicholls State ruin the Bears’ bid at a Southland Conference championship? Had this game been in Thibodaux, I might have said yes, but I think UCA gets the benefit of the stripes and wins 21-17.

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Incarnate Word at Lamar

There is going to be a lot of red in the stands this weekend at Provost Umphrey Stadium as the Cardinals of Incarnate Word take on the Cardinals of Lamar. Incarnate Word is currently 1-6 in the conference and while they hung in with Sam, McNeese, and SFA, they just do not have the talent to be a SLC contender at the moment. Lamar is coming in without Earp and without Harrington and are basically testing out what their team will be like next season. Coach Ray Woodard should have a busy offseason trying to develop a new game plan that will replace the power that is Kade Harrington. I can guarantee to you that the Cardinals win! Lamar takes this 24-10 over UIW.

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Abilene Christian at Southeastern Louisiana

The good news for Abilene Christian fans is that the Wildcats won their last game ever at Shotwell Stadium, and next time they see them at home, it will be in a brand new facility. Other than that, it has definitely been a season to forget for the purple and white. They are off to Hammond to take on Southeastern, who are in a bit of an interesting spot. If they can win out their final games, they would finish 7-2 in conference. They are technically out of the running for the Championship (since UCA and Sam play each other), but do they have a strong enough resume and record to earn an at-large bid? That’s up to the committee to decide. This game shouldn’t be close, and the Lions are going to roar, beating ACU 42-17.
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Sam Houston at Northwestern State

There isn’t really much to say about this game. You have one team who has just destroyed their conference opposition going against a team who has yet to beat a conference opponent. The one aspect to this is that every season, K.C. Keeler finds a way to lose to a team that he shouldn’t lose to. This has happened to Sam in recent years with losses to Colorado State-Pueblo and to Lamar. With Central Arkansas looming on the schedule, could this be a trap game for the Kats? As much as some would like it to be, I doubt it happens and Sam wins 63-0.